Let this moment last forever
by bbroccs
Summary: Gabriel and Elle share a dance and then so much more.


**Let this moment last forever**

Gabriel Gray had just put the finishing touches to his appearance before exiting his apartment and locking the door. He hailed a cab to the hotel and entered the huge ballroom where the party was taking place.

Tonight, Pinehearst was holding its annual ball and despite his lack of social skills Gabriel was actually looking forward to the evening. As he entered Gabriel scanned the crowd for some familiar faces, in particular, one that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about for the past couple of days.

Ever since he had met Elle Bishop, he had always felt there was something between them and recent events had solidified his feelings for her. In a few hours he had gone from having an innocent crush on her to being completely in love with her.

As she zapped him with electricity in the cell, all he cared about was the fact that she was hurt because of something he had done and he hated that he was the one responsible for her pain. He could see the pain etched across her face when she asked him to kill her and his heart broke for her when she sobbed every time her power shorted out. He was glad then that he was able to take that pain away and they finally had forgiven each other. He remembered not being able to take his eyes off her as she showed him how to use her power. He loved how excited she got when he did it right and her smile was enough to cause an ache in his heart seeing how beautiful she was.

Gabriel was shaken out of his reverie by the sound of a familiar laugh to his left. He swung around slowly and finally saw her. She was standing talking to a group of Pinehearst employees. Elle was laughing heartily with her head thrown back. In all of his life Gabriel had never seen anyone look so beautiful. She wore a blue dress which matched the colour of her eyes and her blonde hair was curled, cascading down her back. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

As music played lightly in the background Gabriel continued to stare at the woman he had grown to love more than anyone or anything else in the world. His heart broke as he looked at her, wondering for the thousand time in a week if there was any chance that she felt the same way and also terrified to know the answer to that question either way. His mind flashed back once again to their meeting in the cell earlier that week. He kinda got the feeling at times that she may have felt something for him but that may have just been wishful thinking on his part. Gabriel had never kissed a girl before and he really wanted Elle to be his first, just as she was the first girl he ever fell in love with.

Suddenly, as if sensing his gaze Elle turned around and their eyes locked together across the dance floor. Gabriel felt, at that moment, as if there was nobody else in the world but him and her. He continued to look at her and as she walked towards him her face lit up in a smile which seemed reserved for him only. She stopped in front of him and suddenly it was hard to breath.

"Hey there, boy do you clean up nicely," she said, still with a huge smile on her face.

Gabriel felt himself blush and broke eye contact muttering an awkward thanks. He was angry with himself then because all he wanted was to tell her how beautiful she looked but his brain didn't seem to be working properly at the moment. A few moments passed in awkward silence before he plucked up the courage to speak again.

"So, have you been here long?"

"Not really, about 30 minutes, I caught a ride with Tracey and Nathan".

"Oh, right," he said.

God, he was such an idiot. Is that really the best you can come up with, he asked himself. He was so frustrated with himself at that moment that he felt he should just leave now before he made an even bigger fool of himself.

He was just about to make his excuses and leave when she began to speak again.

"So, you want to dance?" she asked quietly.

Gabriel, whose eyes were looking down at the floor at that moment, nearly got whiplash as he looked up so quickly.

"What?" he asked with a slight panic in his voice. He had never danced with a girl in his life and to be honest didn't have a clue how. Elle, however, must have mistaken his panic for something else because he couldn't help but notice the hurt in her eyes when he looked at her.

"Well, I'll talk to you later. I'm gonna go say hi to Knox and some of the other guys", she said, looking anywhere but at him. And with that she turned away and was gone.

Gabriel was not a man to usually cry but at that moment he had a lump in his throat and tears stung his eyes. He had missed his shot. The opportunity he had waited for since the first time he had met her had just presented itself and he had messed it up.

All of a sudden he was overcome with determination. Psyching himself up he strode across the dance floor and over to where she was standing.

"Hey again", he began lamely, God he was really bad at this.

"Hey", she answered looking across the dance floor at nothing in particular.

Suddenly he couldn't stand it anymore. He knew what he wanted and he was going to try his hardest to get it.

"Elle", he whispered softly.

It must have been the gentle tone of his voice that got her attention because suddenly her eyes focused on him again and he couldn't help but notice how pretty they were. Smiling down at her he gently reached across taking her tiny hand softly in his own. She looked at him with a question and slight shock in her eyes. He giggled a little leading her out onto the dance floor.

A fast dance had been playing while they walked out but just as they got to a free spot on the dance floor the music slowed down. At that moment Gabriel wanted nothing more than to kiss the guy that was playing the music. His timing could not have been better.

He looked at Elle to see her reaction and was pleased to see that she was smiling, a shy smile but a smile nonetheless. He realised then that she must have been just as lost in all this as he was. She was raised as a company girl and probably never had all that many fancy dinner parties to attend. In that moment Gabriel decided to take the initiative. If he waited any longer the song would over and the moment would be lost.

Slowly he took Elle's hand in his and drew her closer to him. She looked up at him again with those piercing blue eyes. Gabriel had to draw a breath when he looked at her because he couldn't believe he was dancing with someone who was that beautiful. They started to dance then, talking occasionally, with his right hand clasped in hers, the other at her waist. Any awkwardness they had felt at first started to dissipate as they relaxed and enjoyed each others company. Gabriel was unhappy about one thing though and that was the fact that he wasn't close enough to her. They were dancing about two feet apart but all he wanted was to hold her close to him.

It seemed, however that this was Gabriel's lucky night. After the song was over they were about to leave the dance floor when an old lady accidentally knocked into Gabriel. It was a gentle push and he stumbled forward slightly straight into Elle's arms. They ended up pressed close against each other staring into each other's eyes.

"Oh God, someone pushed me from behind, I'm so sorry", he apologised still holding onto her but avoiding her eyes.

Her answer was quite unexpected and hope flared in his chest that he may have a shot with her after all.

"Don't be", she said softly, meeting his eyes again and smiling up at him. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot after that.

They both realised the intensity of the moment at the same time and couldn't stop staring at each other. Slowly Elle moved her hands around his waist and they started to move together to music.

As they danced to the music staring into each other's eyes Gabriel felt that they were the only two people in the world. He had everything he ever wanted in his arms and he wasn't letting go.

After a while Gabriel gently used his left hand to draw her even closer pressing it into her back. He could have sworn he heard her sigh but wasn't sure with all the noise going on around. She felt and smelt amazing pressed up close to him and Gabriel never wanted the night to end as he wasn't sure he ever wanted to let her go. Slowly with his left hand he gently began to stroke up and down her back. He was amazed at how soft her skin was.

Elle slowly wrapped her arms around him drawing him closer and placed her head on his chest. Gabriel looked down at the top of her head and smiled to himself. This was turning out to be one of the best nights of his life. Even if the dance were to end right there and then he would have been happy with this moment they were having right here. Instinctively he kissed the top of her head and ran his right hand up her arm.

Slowly, Elle lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. Slowly he lifted his right hand to gently stroke her cheek with his thumb gently pushing her hair out of the way. He definitely heard a sigh this time and his heart leapt in his chest a little when she shivered at his touch. He smiled at her again and was rewarded when her whole face lit up with huge smile.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you look tonight?" he said softly.

"Thanks", she said shyly. God she was cute. Really it just made him love her even more.

Suddenly both their faces turned serious again when they realised how close they were. Keeping his right hand on her cheek he continued to look deep into her eyes as his fingers stroked her face. With his left he cupped the back of her head drawing her to him. Slowly their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss that was everything Gabriel had waited for and so much more. He never wanted it to end. Slowly he continued to stroke her cheek as the kiss continued. With his left hand he gently began to stoke her back again slowly skimming up her back into her hair and around to cradle her face in his hands deepening the kiss. Elle moaned slightly and Gabriel had never heard anything so sexy in his life.

As he continued to stroke her face Elle opened her mouth deepening the kiss further, massaging her tongue with his. Gabriel was starting to think they probably should move somewhere more private if they continued like this. Elle was driving him crazy and their kiss was quickly moving from pg-13 to nc-17. As if reading his mind Elle slowly pulled away from him looking up at him with those big blue eyes. She smiled again and he was so happy. That meant he probably wasn't a lousy kisser and she might actually want to stick around and do some more of it.

"So, you wanna get out here?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure, so where are we going"? She asked.

Gabriel pecked her on the lips, smiling as he did so. He slowly took her hand in his and they made there way out of the ballroom and immediately hailed a cab. They sat talking and laughing, content and happy to be together.

When they reached Gabriel's apartment they slowly made their way up the stairs hand in hand. Gabriel was starting to feel nervous again. He had never had a woman inside his apartment, apart from the last time Elle was there. His nerves didn't last long however because as soon as they were inside Elle started chatting incessantly. She was so adorable laughing and talking about nothing in particular. They chatted and laughed and also enjoyed a slice of peach pie that Gabriel had picked up at the store earlier that day. They once again had a little picnic on the floor and talked about the time they spent together a year ago in the same spot they sat now.

Slowly, however they both realised that they didn't want to talk anymore and the tension began to build again as they looked at each other. Gabriel slowly reached across and brought Elle closer to him kissing her for the second time that night. There was more intensity to their second kiss and the passion built quickly.

Slowly they lay down on the floor, kissing like they couldn't get enough of each other. Gently they undressed each other and Gabriel couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Being a virgin Gabriel was a little unsure of what he was doing but his passion took over his nerves as he began to kiss and caress Elle's body. When Gabriel heard Elle's soft moan in response he smiled to himself savouring every touch and kiss. Slowly he worked his way back up her body kissing her stomach, breasts and finally finding her mouth once again. Cupping her face in his hand he was shocked to find that her face was wet. Gabriel froze as he realised that she was crying and for a second he was terrified that he had hurt her.

"Elle?" he said softly, with a tremor in his voice.

Slowly she looked up at him as the tears flowed down her face. Gabriel brought his thumb gently up to her cheek wiping the tears away.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, "Did I hurt you?"

Elle slowly closed her eyes and what she said next made his heart ache for her.

"I'm scared", she whispered another tear rolling down her cheek.

Gabriel looked down at her and gently brushed the tears away. Tenderly he placed a kiss on each eye and then on her lips.

"There's no need to be scared. I'm just glad you're here and we can stop whenever you want", he replied as he softly stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just I've never done this before and I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

"Well, I guess we're in the same boat then because I've never done this before either", he said smiling down at her.

"Really", she said looking up at him.

"Really", he said laughing, "it's not like my days as a serial killer gave me much time to meet a girl I loved enough to lose my virginity to…."

Gabriel trailed off when he saw Elle's eyes widen. He had just said out loud, in a round about way, that he loved her. Slowly he waited to see how she would react and was happy when her whole face lit up in a dazzling smile.

"Did you really mean that?" she asked hopefully biting her lip.

She looked so vulnerable and beautiful laying there that he couldn't help but kiss her again. Slowly he made his way from her lips, across her cheek kissing her cheekbone and making his way to her ear. When he finally got to her left ear he whispered softly.

"Yes, more than anything I have meant in my whole life."

He could feel her smiling then as he moved back across to kiss her on the mouth again. A slight whimper of pleasure escaped from Elle's throat and suddenly the kiss deepened and the passion seemed to build once again. Gabriel pulled back for a second looking at her making sure that she was okay.

"It's okay", she said softly, "just go slowly".

Tenderly Gabriel moved on top of her. With his hand he parted her legs further and settled himself between them. Kissing her softly he entered her for the first time. Elle gasped loudly and he once again asked her if she was okay. He knew that it must be painful for her, and he wanted her to be okay before he went any further. Once again she assured him she was fine and he started to thrust slowly. After a while he was sure that Elle's gasps were no longer gasps of pain but ones of pleasure and he wasn't sure he could hold on much longer. He started to thrust a little harder and found that she moved with him wrapping her legs around his waist drawing him deeper inside her. Gabriel covered her mouth with his own kissing her once again the tension building for both of them. Gently he brought his hands up to cup her face both his thumbs caressing her cheeks.

Finally neither of them could hold on any longer and they came together gasping into each other's mouths as they kissed. Gabriel eased himself off of her and lay down beside her on the floor. They smiled at each other and Gabriel knew in that moment that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this girl.

"God, you look so beautiful", he said truthfully, his hand still caressing her cheek, his lips pressing lightly on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes at his touch and smiled shyly.

They spoke softly to each other afterwards kissing occasionally and laughing at each other's silly jokes. Later, when Elle's eyes started to close Gabriel scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her gently between the sheets and tucked the blankets around her. He then slid into the bed beside her taking her in his arms as gently as he could for fear of waking her. Gabriel couldn't help but watch her sleep for a while. He took in every aspect of her face brushing away a stray strand of hair that had fallen when he drew her closer. Gabriel lightly pressed his lips against Elle's forehead closing his eyes and taking in her own unique scent, a mixture of strawberries and vanilla.

"Goodnight Elle", he whispered looking at her face again. "I love you".

He was just drifting off to sleep himself when he heard a sleepy Elle mutter, "I love you too".

Gabriel smiled to himself then and realised that if there was ever such a thing as the happiest man on earth then it was him at that very moment. With that he drew her closer to him kissing the top of her head and drifted off to sleep never feeling so glad that he had attended a company function in all his life.


End file.
